Rock pack, pillar, or like support for use in mine workings



March 6, 1928. v J. sLoAN ROCK PACK, PILLAR, OR LIKE SUPPORT FOR USE INMINE WORKINGS Filed March 511-. 1926 Patented Mar. 6, 1928. i 1

UNITED STATES V v 1,661,238 ATEN T JOHN SLOAN, or lTOI-IANNESBURG, TRAsvAnnsoU'r AFRICA.

ROCK PACK, PILLAR, on LIKE surron r non use IN MINE WORKINGS.

ApplicationfiledMarcli 31, 1926,,Seria1 No. 98,920, and in the Union of.South Africa May 30, .1925

. 77 or structure commonly known as'a pigsty pack.

provide means whereby a pack or similar supporting structure of the kind'herembefore referred tocan be built pr constructed, which will be moreeflicient than ex isting packs, and considerablydess expensive to erectthan packs constructed accord- 'ing to existing methods or designs, asthe use of timber can-be dispensed with or the quantity reduced to aminimum, 7

A pack, pillaror like structure according to this invention may be, oftriangular,

square, polygonal,-circular, oval, or of any other suitableand preferredshape in-crosssection, and of uniform cross-sectional area, or of anyother suitable and preferred form.

In the construction of the rock pack, pillar or like structural employ aflexible w re netting or the like, which-expression is to be understoodas including w1re netting, screening, et' cetera, in whichthe wires aretwisted, woven or otherwise interlaced, intertwined, interlocked, ortied to form a mesh or spaces between the wires or strands of thenetting, et cetera; also tlieinaterial com monly known as expandedmetal, in which sheet metal is cut and then expanded or drawn out toform openings or apertures be tween the strips formed by the cutsor'slits; and also any similar construction or network made of hoop ironor strips of-metal. V The netting, et cetera, may be of any desired andsuitable mesh or size of. aperture or opening, and the wire or the likeemployed in its manufacture be of anysuitable gauge or thickness; Thenetting, et cetera, may be made of single Wires throughout, or

have several groups of wires,'; the wires of each group being arrangedparallel, or twisted, or otherwise connected together, placed along theedges or/and [intermediate the edges, with or without strengtheningorrein forcing wires, or groups of Wires, arranged vertically,horizontally, diagonally or other;

wise of the netting, et cetera.

The wire netting, et-cetera, is made of'such dimensions or width andlengthas to enclose The object of the present invention is to;

. material-in position.

which is to be filledwith the'waste rockjori other materialinconstructing the pack, pil- -lar .or'like support. Thewire netting, et

I cetera, cage or structure can be built up of anumber of widths ofnetting connected together along their adjacent edges or selvedges byWiring, or by wire or other suitable .vfastenings. q c 5 Y If desiredorfound requisite, as forex ample in the case of large packs, et cetera,

"wire stays or ties maybe provided extendingiacr-ossthespace enclosed-bythe wire netting cage or structure,- and be arrangedto extend from sideto side,;and consistzof oneor more parallel or twisted wires of suitablegauge attached in any convenient mani strengthin the completedstructureor cage,

The wire or Wires used [in the construction of the nettingor the likewill be of such gauge or thickness as to alford the requisite and thesize ofythemesh will to some extent depend upon the size, of the piecesof waste rock to be usedasthe packing. I

.If founddesirablethe wire structure skeleton cage and packing materialmay be additionally supported or bound by arrang- -or I ing on .thefootwallj or floor of the enclosed necessary or considered desirable,the :'-adfditional support or binding could be] eX- tended down theopposite side of the wire structure and,-if desired, continued on thefootwall forany suitable distance,the edges or; overlapping portions onthe 'footwall being appropriately connected or fastened to- 'gether,This additional support would be .more particularly suitablefor use inthe constructionof a pack in'asteeply inclined stope, where the portionof same positioned at thelower side l'of the stope would serve to keepthe packingfmaterial from falling out ofposition and down the stopeuntil the pressure of the superincumbent hanging wall tightened the packand retained the packing I The Wirenetting or the like will preferablybe made complete before constructing the cag for facilitating itserection'in ost.

ners or around the structure.

tion in the mine working. It may-be made in the form of a coil likeordinary wire netting, or it may be made in panels or rec- I tangularpieces of suitable length and width to erect square, rectangular, orother shaped packs, or be made in suitably curved sections to suitcircular, oval,,or similar packs.

For the purpose of erecting the wire netting or like cage or structure,three, four, or any other desired or requisite number of uprights,posts, standards, or poles of timber 'or other material may be employed,arranged between and more or less at right angles to the hanging walland foot wall, or root and floor-10f the stope, et cetera. These postsor uprights will preferably be of a length approximately equal to theheight of the hanging wall, or, the distance between'the'foot andhanging walls or the stope, et cetera, and they willhe ofsuitablediameter or thickness. The, posts or uprights will be secured in.position between the foot and hanging walls by suitable means, such as,for example, wedges or the like driven in between the ends of the postsand the foot wall and/or hanging wall. i

The uprights or posts may be arranged so that they lie either within orwithout the wire structure, at the corners of such structure or in anyposition intermediate the cor- These poles or posts will serve as aguide or support in the erection of the cage or structure, the latterbeing suitably attached to said posts.

The wire net-ting, et cetera,rwill be attached to the standards or postsby any convenient means, such as, for example, flexible wire, nails orstaples. The ends of the wire netting will be brought together and.

connected also in any suitable and convenient manner as by twisting thewires or strands together or around each other.

In place of the wire netting or the like, one or more stout wires may bewound around or attached to the outside or inside i of each of thepolesand be extended or car'- ried between the poles, and be arranged in theform of a spiral or as. separate windings attached'tothe spiral windingsor rings by flexible wires or other suitable means. A wire cage orstructure consisting of the spiral or separate windings or rings withthe distancing wires may also have incorporated in it -further diagonalor other wires twisted or otherwise suitably secured to the main wiresto term a mesh of any desired size.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Iillustrate several practical embodiments of my invention In the drawingsFig. l is an isometric projection of one embodiment ofthe inventionarranged in a level steps or similar mine working.v

Fig. 2 is an isometric projection of another embodiment of theinvention, and

Fig. 3 is an isometric projection of one form of the'wire netting, etcetera, structure for additionally supporting the form of the inventionshownin Fig. 1, when the latter is used in an inclined mine stope or,the like.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 inwhich a square or rectangular wire nettingcage or structure is shown, adapted for'the erect-ion or building up ofa similarly shapedpaek, the- 1mm- 'erals 1, 2, 3, 4, represent the fourcorner posts or uprights inside and between which the1w1re netting orlike structure or cage 1s built. In this construction, the wirestructure or 'cageincludes the parallel longitudi- 6, shown threaded orinterlaced with. th

wires'5 the manner common; in the manufacture ofsome forms of WlIGnetting.

Twisted or otherwise attached aroundthe wiresj5, 6, are the'thinnerwires? which, with the wires 5, 6, form the mesh of the netting.Although in Fig' 1' 'I show-a portion only of'the wires 7 for-the sake01" clearness, it is: to be understood that'with this form. orembodiment ot the invention the,

whole structure would include the wires 7.

nal wires 5 and the transverse or cross wires.

The longitudinal wires 5 and the transverse or cross wires 6- at theback and sides of the structure are shown broken away. to make thefigure more readily understood.

' The top and bottom edges or selvedges 8 preferably consist, as shown,:of; two (or more) wires to stiffen. and strengthen the 7 said edgesand, if desired, at one or more pointsintermediate the edges orselvedges 8 the netting may be stiiiened' and reinrorced by a pluralityof Wires.

Thecage or structure shownin this figure consists'of two widths of .wirenetting, he inner overlapping or adjacent edges 9 being shown connectedtogether bythe ends of internal reinforcing cross wire stays or ties10..

of which threeareshown arranged in each of two directions; 11 are crosswire stays orties placed acrossthe structure between the upper edges orselvedges 8 thereof and shown arranged in each of two directions.

Obviouslyany desired number of the stays or ties- 10, 11, maybeprovided'andarranged in any suitable-positionsto support the sides ofthe wire netting-structure in the erection of the structure and in thefilling or packing otth'esa'me. with the wasterock, et cetera.

The WlIBf nettingcage or structure is like cage or structure isshownot'. cylindrishown placed within the fo ur posts 1, 2, 3,

,4, and attached thereto by means of wire fixings 12.., The posts 1 2,3, 4, may be at-v lowed to remain.inpositionafter the erection ofthewire netting structure, orthey can be removedai'ter the pack has beencom .plet-cdby packing the waste rock or like material inside saidstructurefl Referringto the embodiment the invention illustrated in 2the wire netting or cal shape orsubstantiallycircular in crosssection.In this casethe four-posts 1, 2,3, 4, may as shown be arranged' in pairsatopposite sides of the structure and the wire netting or like materialof which the structure .is built is shown constructed in the same manneras in Fig. 1, andattached to the posts also in like manner.

In Fig. 3 the additional support and bind- I ing for the lower sideofthe structure in the case of a comparatively steeply inclined stope isillustrated." Asv previously ex plaincd, a portion 13 of the wirenetting, et

cetera, is laid on the footwall or floor oi the stope, a portion 14;placed'against. the

lower side of the main wire netting cage or structureindicated in dottedlinesand a portion 15 carried immediately beneath the V hanging wall orroot. For the purpose of erecting this additional support two addi- Itional posts or uprights 16, 17 maybe pro vided and the portion 14 Wiredto the posts,

as indicated at 18. As in the case of the posts 1, 2, 3, 4, the posts-16, 17, could be allowed to remain in posit-ion after the erection ofthe entire wire netting structure, or they could be removed after thepack has been completed.

Although several embodiments ofthe invention are shown in the drawings,it is to be understood that I do not limitmyselt' thereto and that manyother forms of the wire structure or cage could be devised which wouldservethe purpose of the invention,

i. e. to retain the waste rockorlike fragmentary material inposition inthe form of a pack or pillar until said material was held in positionbytheweightor vpressure put upon. it by the hanging wall. 7

In some cases, such as comparatively fiat stopes, or other places, thewlre structure or cage could be erected in position without the'-' useof the posts or uprights,

In erecting or building a pack or pillar with the aid of theinventionitlwillprobably be found most convenient first securely" toerect the supporting,standards, uprights,

' pillars or posts and then to place one width of wire netting, etcetera, in position inside and between the posts and to secure the samethereto. The waste rock or filling'material could'then be placed inposition in thespace 7 so enclosed to within ashortdist'ance of the topof the wire netting and anycross 'to' protect by Letters Patent is z.

wire staysorties arranged-and secured in position. A further width ofthewire net ting would then beplaced, in position inside andbetween theupper portions of the posts andithe bottom edgesoi' said further widthbe connected to the top edge ofthe firstmentioned width of wire nettingand the top .cross wirestaysorties arranged in position and secured. Thesecond ortop w dth'could now be secured to the posts, leaving one sideor a portion of one side open to allow of the filling material beingplaced in position to or ifleft: o'l' a sufiicient length to overlap theadjacentend of the top width, then also complete thepack. The loose endof the 7 top width could then be secured to thepost,

secured to said latter end. As previously ex plained, the posts can nowbe removed or" allowed to remain, as may be preferred.

. That I claim asmy invention and desire 1. A support for use in mineworkings, including a skeleton metal cagefor holding filling materialpacked in said cage, so that the cageserves to maintain the fillingmaterial in position until it takes the pressure I or weight of thehanging wall or root of the working, as set forth.

2. A support for use in mine workings,

including a wire cagefor holding filling m'aterial packed in said cage,so that the cage serves to maintain the filling material in positionuntil it takes the pressure or weight of the hanging Wall or'roo'f ofthe working, as set forth. i

3. A support for use in mine workings,

including a skeleton metal cage, for holding fillingmaterial packed insaid cage, so that the cage serves to maintain the filling ma terial inposition until. it takes thepressure or weight of the hanging wall orroot 01" the working, andsupporting posts for said cage fixed inthernine' working, asset forth.

4. A support for use in mine workings, including. a skeleton metalcage,-for holding filling material packed in said cage, so that thecage-serves to maintain the filling ma.

terial in position until ittakes the pressure or weight of thehangmgwall'or roofof the working,- and cross stays attached to the weight ofthe hanging. wall or roof of the working, supporting posts for said cagefixed inthe mine working, and cross stays. 7

attached to the wire cage and extending across the space'enclosed by it,as set forth.

., 6. A support for use in mine workings,

nclu ing awire net ng c g f tan i lly uniform cross-sectional area, forholdingfilling material packed in said cage, so that the cage serves tomaintain the filling ma terial" 1n position until 1t takes the pressure'01 Weight of the hanging Wall or roof of the Working, supporting postsfor said cage fixed in the mine Working,- cross stays attached-to 'tlhe'Wire netting cage and e2itending acrossthe space enclosed by it, and" askeleton metal bindingstructure comprising top and bottom members and asidemember,-

the side member being placed dtwvrrtheside of the support, and the topand bottom members retained in position by the Weight of therfillinganaterialj and roof of the mine Working respectively,as setforth.

In testimony-whereof I have signedrmy name to this specification;

JOHN 'sLoAN;

